Issue with jumping in rally

Opal has had an issue with rushing and over jumping recently and im not sure how to fully fix it this is the result of a accident at our last show she slipped or didnt take off right and went head first into the jump she got up and did jump but did overjump it and has been ever since I really want to fix this I am afraid she is going to hurt herself

How high does she jump in Rally? I can't remember how jump height works in the sport. First thought is that she's in pain still, so having her looked at by a professional might not be a bad idea.

Second is that you should probably go back to basics with jump training. I would shape it like you would in a beginner agility class. Have a clicker handy, set your dog up on one side of the jump and position yourself near the upright. Click for any movement/head turn towards the jump. By shaping the jump you're never forcing your dog to do anything she's not willing to do, so it should cut down on fear problems. Once you've reshaped your jump start tossing food ahead as a reward for a completed jump. Once the dog grabs the food on the ground on one side, cue her over the other, and reward in that direction. This super simple exercise charges the jump in a similar way we charge a clicker, and it will hopefully overwrite the negative feelings your pup has about the jump. Keep it nice and low to start, but high enough that she has to jump a bit - not step over it.

Or are you having trouble sending to the jump? For sends, I found that teaching Cohen to run out to wrap around a tree or a light post was hugely helpful. Once she knew the behaviour I could practice it at home on our walks and I could gradually increase the distance I sent her 'til I could gesture to a tree 30+ feet away and she'd take off away from me.

Thanks Cohen she was at the vet the week after and is fine didnt hurt herself I will start with that but even when she is free while I set up equipement she will freely jump it without and coaxing or command and even then she over jumps we only work at 12 inches which is her jump height

I'm not exactly sure what her jumping issue is, but in Rally, you are basically asking for a collected jumping style - not extended. You can do the first part of the Linda Mecklenberg jumping program mixed with the set point work of the Susan Salo jumping program. Both will help your dog understand how to jump in a tight bell arch, and Salo's set point work also teaches the dog where to take off so that early or late take offs are minimized.

Even with my experienced agility dog, I still revisit set point jumping work every few months. It's great for teaching proper take offs.

As far as stopping a dog from jumping way high over a jump, other than set point work, etc. there isn't much that can be done. As there are so few jumps in Rally, I wouldn't worry about it. It could be your dog has "Early Takeoff Syndrome," and overjumping is a way the dogs learn to adjust to this visual problem. BTW, ETS cannot be diagnosed by an eye specialist and has only recently been discovered.

To find out more on these training concepts and ETS, you can Google them.

So she crashed the jump and is now racing over them and overjumping trying not to touch them no matter what, yes?

If so totally take out the bar. Start out with no bar in the jump and just have her go through the standards,slowly. First on a leash, then off leash but with regulated speed.

Slowly, and I mean over several sessions not all at once, start adding in height. First with the bar on the ground, then slowly start raising it to the 12'. Start her on a leash and don't let her rush. It's all about getting her confidence back up. She crashed and it hurt and was scary and now she needs to learn how to jump correctly. After she's going over the vertical, confidently you can sort of create an agility broad jump to use rather than the flat boards at first. Then start putting the boards underneath, then faze out the standards and bars all together so she sees it all in combination and it's no longer a big deal.

Something else that may help is using targets and sending her out through the empty standards so she gains some confidence being out there on her own. She'll also learn where she needs to wind up after jumping.

You can teach collection easily with jump grids/gymnastics easily enough but right now just getting her over the jumps without panicking is the goal.

Jump crashes are no joke and also why, at least in OB, you should always double check the jump height.